*****
Xander froze against the cliff face as three Jaffa guards marched past. He waited until they were out of sight, then headed for the cloaked ship, shaking his head. Incompetent boobs. I supposed I should be grateful, but I feel insulted.
Elan muttered something he didn't quite catch, and considering how many languages she could curse in he was just as happy. In a few moments he was right up against the invisible hull of the ship, watching the psychedelic shimmer that his bio-mask converted the higher end radiation into.
Cool. It's better then the cloak on my suit though.
This time Elanthielle's voice came through loud and clear. It is the same basic technology, Alexander. The ship is merely a more stable platform to base the shift field from. The technology hasn't changed since the fall.
Xander actually paused as he quickly computed the time she was referring too. Wait a second. That was over ten thousand years ago according to you... that's not possible.
He could feel Elan's mental smile warm him, her bubbling laughter was almost contagious. The Goa'uld are not innovators, Alexander. They are thieves and charlatans.
Xander shook his disbelief off and passed his hand along the hull of the ship. I know that damned door was here somewhere...
The Goa'uld has a remote for the door activation, Alexander. You'll have to retrieve another from one of his guards.
"Oh fricken lovely." He muttered under his breath as he turned toward the closest patrol.
*****
Brei'tal stopped when he heard a noise, half turning to see what it was. He opened his mouth to call to the others in his patrol when a flash of silver shone in his eyes and everything went black.
Xander put Elan away and leaned over the fallen Jaffa, So where is this garage door opener anyway?
What? Never mind. I most likely do not wish to know. The remote is on his forearm bracer.
"Ah, got it." Xander punched the button down and was rewarded when a hole appeared in the ships cloaking screen, revealing the interior of the ship. "Cool."
Xander left the Jaffa where he had fallen and ducked into the ship.
*****
Teru sat, secured within the command center of his ship, and watched the invasion of the mountain progress. So far things were moving along nicely, despite fierce fighting the humans were actually providing less resistance then he had foreseen. The Mountain Stronghold would be his within the hour.
"Now if I can only survive this DAMNABLE Yautja!" His fist thudded into the console panel by his side.
*****
Xander wove his way through the tight spaces of the ship, tracking the powerful EM radiation of the jamming device with his bio-helmet. He slipped into a small room just ahead of the clanking footsteps of a Jaffa guard patrol.
In the center of the room was a pedestal with glowing blue crystals, emitting an odd blue glow toward the ceiling.
"Nice lightshow." Xander muttered as he examined the device. "It is definitely the source of the jamming... at least if I'm reading this thing right."
You are.
"Coolness." Xander said, "Now how do I shut it down?"
You cannot from here. The controls are on the command deck.
"This IS the source though, right?"
That is correct.
"Cool." Xander stepped back, tagged the pedestal with the tri-laser and popped two plasma bolts into the offending device.
*****
"Fall back!"
O'Neill fired off another semi-burst into the approaching Jaffa and then followed his own order.
The teams fell back again, allowing the Jaffa to take level three as they regrouped their forces on level four. As they formed up at the first hard point on level four a sudden crackling came over their radios.
"O'Neill. Harris. Mission Accomplished." Every member of the defenders could hear the smirking grin that accompanied the curt transmission.
"About damned time, Harris!" Jack snapped into his transceiver. "Echo team, this is Stronghold, Initiate the attack!"
"Roger Stronghold."
*****
Throughout the base radios crackled to life, allowing the defending teams began coordinating their movements. Dozens of Jaffa fell as ambushes were devised on the fly, cross fire and coordinated assaults suddenly shifting the odds slightly in the favor of the defenders.
The body count quickly piled even higher in the defenders favor, but the total numbers of troops still favored the Jaffa by over fifty to one.
And so the defenders continued to fall back.
*****
Teru was grinning as he watched the defenders fall back yet again, retreating further into their precious 'Star Gate Command', when the explosions rocked his ship. Shocked he flipped on the exterior monitors, only to see explosions raining down on his troops.
"What is happening!?"
A Jaffa signal came over the comm system, "My Lord, we have come under attack from a military force hidden in the hills."
"Destroy them!"
"Sire, They are too well entrenched. They must have been setting up their attack for hours."
"Impossible! They do not have communications! They could not be organizing such an assault."
"My Lord." The Jaffa conceded, though obviously with little enthusiasm.
*****
Major Teal whooped as the initial rocket assault ripped through the armored columns of troops. "Take that, whatever the fuck you are!"
"Major, The mortars have been adjusted."
"Let fly, Sargent." Teal ordered, a smile on his lips.
"Yes Sir."
"Hope those Air Force yahoos appreciate this."
Whining death arced through the air and fell to Earth amid the enemy positions below, hammering the entrenched troops with 80 and 120mm mortar rounds.
*****
Despite the impossibility of the situation Teru had to concede that the Tau'ri had somehow managed to devise an ambush of his troops. He growled as he turned and swept from the ship's command center.
He could not retreat. Not now. His life would be forfeit if he returned to the System Lords having failed and, in the process, lost over four thousand Jaffa. He snarled and made a descision.
"Fall back to the Mountain! We will take the base and hold it until reinforcements arrive through the Gate! Then we shall see who has the upper hand."
The Jaffa thumped their fists over the chests and followed the Irate Goa'uld out of the ship. On the way out the Goa'uld tapped a command sequence on his wrist panel and continued out of the ship.
Behind him the ship's center panel began flashing and a countdown appeared on the screen.
*****
Xander followed the Jaffa as they marched out of the ship, only to have the doors slide shut in his face. He looked around for another Jaffa but was greeted by nothing but silence.
"Great. Where's the door knob for this thing?"
He started looking around, but finally gave up.
Go to the command level. You can access the door or the teleportation rings from there.
Xander nodded and turned around, "You know Elan... For someone who's been out of action for ten thousand years you sure seem to know an awful lot about this stuff."
I told you already, Alexander...
Xander cut her off, "Goa'uld are not innovators... yah yah. I heard you. But no changes in ten thousand years?"
When something is working well do you fix it, Alexander?
Xander blanked for a second, "You mean if it ain't broke don't fix it?"
Precisely.
"Some times you scare me, Elan."
I should hope so.
*****
Xander stared at the obvious countdown on the large screen, his mouth twisting as he did. "Oh, you KNOW this can't be good."
It is a self destruct timer.
"Oh really?" Xander muttered sarcastically. "I couldn't tell. Why the hell did he set the damned thing?"
Activate that monitor over there... Elan told him, directing him to the controls.
Xander watched the scene outside, he could see the advancing US troops entering the, now deserted, Jaffa encampment. "Elan... is that a countdown timer or a proximity fuse?"
Elan was silent for a long time.
"Oh shit!" Xander cursed as he cast about the ship looking for a way to defuse the timer.
Calm yourself, Alexander.
"You calm yourself, Elan!" Xander yelled as his eyes searched the room, "We're sitting on a damned bomb that's going to KILL a *battalion* of United States marines!"
SIT. DOWN.
Xander dropped automatically into the central chair, actually losing control over his limbs temporarily as the order rang through his every nerve. "Wha!?"
Place your hands over those controls... right... no, not those ones. To the left.
Stunned, Xander followed her directions. He set his hands against the controls and pushed the sequence that Elan ordered. A low whine could be heard through the ship, and a rumble vibrated through the chair.
Next push that lever all the way up.
When he did as she directed Xander was slammed back into the chair as the ship leapt clear of the ground, spinning dizzily as it blasted through the white clouds and into the blackness of space.
"ELAN!!!!!"
*****
"Pull back!"
Jarod's order echoed through the long tunnel as his men retreated, still firing, from the wave of Jaffa troops that had began to encroach on the last level of the SGC facility. The groups had largely rejoined each other by the point as they were slowly forced back into the last stronghold of the SGC.
*****
"What the hell was that, Elan!?" Xander demanded after they had managed to get the ship's spinning flight under control.
We got the ship away from the soldiers, saved them and us.
"NOT THAT!" Xander screamed as he jumped clear of the chair. "What did you DO to me!?"
Elan was silent.
"Elan..." Xander growled in a warning tone.
I overrode your nervous system... Elan said quietly.
Xander seethed inside, it shook him up to have lost control of his body. "You never told me you could do that..."
I can't... not really. Elan said, her voice still guiltily quiet.
"Don't give me that...!" Xander began.
Elanthielle cut him off, I mean not for long... not to you anyway.
"Huh?"
You're too strong for me to take over, Alexander... Which is as good as admitting that I tried, I know... but I swear, I will never do it except in extreme cases... Please...? Forgive me?
Xander dropped back into the chair, looking out at the Earth as it floated on the view screen. He took a deep breath before answering, forcing himself to calm down and think rationally. "Forgive? Nothing to forgive, Elan. I... I overreacted... I think. W... we'll talk about it later.... ok?"
Ok... For the first time ever Xander heard a tone of meekness in the ancient weapon's mental voice.
*****
"Come on, girls! We're pulling back!"
The Charmed Ones nodded and started dropping back along side their soldier companions. They were on the last level now, and were almost to the final hard points... the places where they would make their last stand.
Phoebe had just ducked past a heavy metal door when her radio cracled. Phoebe? This is Xander... I hope you can hear me...
"Xander? I'm here!"
Anyway... If you can hear me I need to you to send leo to pick me up... I'm sort of in a bit of trouble here...
"Xander!? Answer me! Are you hurt?"
The squad looked at each other in concern as the youngest Halliwell screamed into her radio.
Don't bother trying to answer me... I guess I should have said that first huh? I'm sort of in orbit I think... had to jack this transmission with a ton of power to have any chance of reaching you... even with the ground wire repeaters the army has in that mountain...
"You're WHERE!?" Phoebe cupped her hands over the earpiece, her face twisted in disbelief. "LEO!"
*****
Xander slumped back into the chair, looking out at the stars as they shone unblinkingly around him. "You think she got it?"
Elan didn't answer. She had none to give that Xander didn't already know, and she was still worried about his reactions earlier.
Xander let out a long breath, staring sullenly at the screen. The silence had become oppressive in the wake of his reaction to Elanthielle's action, but even so he wasn't willing to concede more then he already had. She should have told him.
He was about to try to breech the subject again when a shimmer of lights appeared on the command deck of the ship.
"You called for a lift?"
"Leo!" Xander grinned as he stood up, "Man, you have NO idea how glad I am to see you."
The Whitelighter looked around the room in curiosity, "You are a strange one, you know that Xander?"
"Shut up and get us Earth-side."
*****
Jarod and his team reached the final rally point, bare seconds ahead of the rest of the mountains defenders. They had carefully set up this last point of defense as the final fall back zone, complete with ammunition reserves and plenty of cover.
"Take your positions over there and prepare to lay down covering fire." Jarod ordered as he saw the next group rush in.
"We ready here!?" Jack O'Neill yelled as he lead his team across the sandbagged defense point into the gate room. Outside Air Force and Initiative personnel were setting up machine gun nests and mini-bunkers in preparation for the final battle.
"We're ready." Jarod's voice was flat as he noted how many people were missing fromt he gathering, even after discounting how many were settling in outside.
A scream came from outside, drawing their attention and guns to the door. The room seemed to chill as they watched a Goa'ul step lightly through the door, hopping over the body of an Air Force officer as he did. Chills ran down the backs of every person in the room as they watched his glowing eyes.
"Fire!" O'Neill ordered and the air was suddenly rent by hundreds of bullets.
All of which bounced harmlessly off of an energy field surrounding the Goa'uld.
The self proclaimed 'God' smiled at them as their weapons fire slowly petered out and the muzzles dropped toward the ground.
"I have come to offer terms for your surrender." His eerie voice echoed through the air.
To a man the defenders stiffened in outrage at the creatures presumptuousness.
"Fuck you, you sorry looking freak!" Jack Crow yelled through the stunned silence, "I don't bend over for any glowing eyed fuck that hides his ugly ass behind a goddamned star trek piece of shit force field, so go straight to hell and tell 'em I'll be down to kick your fucking ass later!"
The Goa'uld raised his hand and a rupture of air pulsed across the room, picking Crow up and flinging him against the far wall. As the vampire hunter slumped to the ground the Goa'uld turned back to the group.
"As I said, I offer you your lives in exchange for your surrender. You shall be treated well, as slaves under the rule of the System Lords."
Before anyone else could respond a shimmer of lights deposited two figures into the center of the room. Xander, in full armor stepped forward and looked at the Goa'uld. Then he turned back to Jack O'Neill.
"He wants our answer?" Xander said coldly, "I say we give it to him."
Jack O'Neill smirked, "I thought you'd never ask..."
*****